On Photography
- A book that permanently changes how we understand photographs — and our relationship with images.
*BOOKOFF RECOMMENDS*
On Photography is one of the most influential works ever written about visual culture. In a series of sharp, provocative essays, Susan Sontag examines photography not just as an art form, but as a way of seeing, collecting, consuming, and controlling reality. First published in the 1970s, the book feels uncannily relevant in the age of social media, endless images, and visual saturation.
This is not a how-to book.
It’s a how-to-think book.
Why we chose this book
A cornerstone of visual theory: Essential reading for photographers, artists, designers, and anyone working with images.
Intellectually demanding, but accessible: Sontag’s essays are rigorous without being academic or obscure.
More relevant than ever: Written before Instagram — yet it explains Instagram better than most contemporary texts.
This is a book customers buy, read, and then recommend.
What you’ll find inside
Essays on photography, power, memory, and ethics
A critique of how images shape empathy and distance
Reflections on war photography and spectatorship
The role of the camera in modern life
Writing that is precise, unsettling, and deeply influential
It doesn’t offer comfort — it offers clarity.
Perfect for
Photographers and visual artists
Students of art, media, and cultural studies
Readers interested in critical theory and visual culture
Anyone questioning their relationship with images
A serious, timeless intellectual gift
Once read, it’s impossible to look at photographs the same way again.
Add On Photography to your shelf — a foundational text for understanding the image-saturated world we live in.